674+Discussion+Questions

**__Discussion Question 1 - completed during Weekend One __**
What do you know about using technology with students? What I know about using technology with students is that students learn differently when they use technology to aid their learning. Students naturally begin to work cooperatively when technology is incorporated into their learning. Students also become more engaged in the learning process. Teaching using technology allows for more differentiation among our regular and special education students.

What do you want to know about using technology with students? I want to know where to find the best resources for incorporating technology. I also want to know the most effective ways to bridge the gap for my students who do not have much experience with using technology. I would be interested in learning how to share in a non threatening way, the need to use technology with other teachers.

**__Discussion Question 2 - completed during Weekend One__ **
Look at the Essential 21st Century Skills List - Select one skill and discuss how you already meet this skill via your current instruction.

One skill I currently meet is Social Responsibility. Being that we teach special education students, this is a huge part of our lessons and our curriculum. Our students receive social skills instruction twice a week. We incorporate many social expectations in our lessons. There is a lot of discussion about appropriate behaviors and proper manners. We tackle inappropriate behaviors immediately as they occur. Our students work hard to control their behaviors in and out of our classroom.

Select another Essential 21st Century Skill that you may NOT already touch upon and project how you might be able to meet that need in future instruction.

Critical Thinking and Systems Thinking is a skill that is not touched upon often enough. Our students often struggle with higher level reasoning. Many of them lack basic skills and background knowledge. We need to find ways to help students make connections, To incorporate Critical Thinking and Systems Thinking, we need to have more cooperative learning taking place as well as more problem solving. We need to structure our lessons in a way that fosters students to go beyond the content and apply the knowledge. I need to personally find the right tools and techniques to help students develop these skills.

==** __Discussion Question 3 - to be completed one week after the Weekend One__ ** ==

Find a TeacherTube/YouTube video that you could use for instructional purposes and copy and paste the address of the video for others to view. Explain how you would use this with your students.

Here is my Youtube Video: @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w&feature=player_embedded

I would use this video to introduce our inventions unit and the Rube Goldberg machine. Students would see how a **Rube Goldberg machine** is a machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction. When I've taught this in the past, I've always used the game Mouse Trap to show students the chain reaction and how it works. But this video is much more involved than the Mouse Trap game. I love how complex it is and that it is put to music! By the end of the unit students create an invention of their own. It's a lot of fun for the students!  I just showed this Youtube video to my students last week. It provided great motivation for my students to keep reading since we are in the 4th quarter of the school year. I just had to add this video to my wiki! Got to keep reading

NOTE: Since there are so many videos to choose from, please avoid any repeats.

View two other students’ videos.

==**__Discussion Question 4 - to be completed Saturday/Weekend Two__ ** ==

To complete the KWHL- what have you learned from the readings, activities and discussions from this course about using technology with your students?

I have learned a tremendous amount from this course. Sharing the chapters of the book //Classroom Instruction that Works// gave me a wealth of information. I now have a better understanding of the 10 technology standards and how they can be integrated into the curriculum. I also found a large amount of resources from the book as well. I have also gained knowledge from sharing with each other on our lessons we created and our You Tube videos. I really enjoyed learning about the Lego kits and Claymation. These are things I really want to try in the classroom as we start our Project Based School next year. I enjoyed using Excel to make a grade book, personalized letters, and labels. I will be putting these skills to use in the future. Overall, my favorite part of the class was the lively pace, the well organized schedule and April's enthusiasm. The class wiki for this course is so packed with useful information and links that I will be using it often in the future. I appreciate all of the resources and knowledge that I have gained from this wiki! This class was very beneficial!